1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spinnerette assemblies for forming hollow fibers.
2. Prior Art
Spinnerettes for spinning hollow fibers are known. These spinnerettes usually use a pin or tube positioned in a spinning orifice for forming the hollow fiber. Usually, a tube is used for this purpose and a liquid is injected from the tube into the bore of the fiber being formed to maintain the shape of the fiber until the polymeric material making up the fiber is coagulated or solidified.
One of the primary disadvantages of known spinnerettes which are adapted to form hollow fibers is that they are very difficult to disassemble and clean and it is very easy to damage the parts making up the spinnerette when the spinnerette is taken apart for cleaning.
Most spinnerettes of this type are made largely by hand, one at a time. As a result, parts made for one spinnerette will not always fit another spinnerette. When parts are not interchangeable any damage to one part of the spinnnerette assembly may render the entire assembly useless.
In cleaning conventional hollow fiber spinnerettes it is very easy to slightly bend the liquid injection tube, such that it is off-center of the spinning orifice. When this happens, the spinnerette cannot be used again.